Married for less than a day, her husband joined the Red Army. With tears in her eyes, she bid him farewell, and his promise of "waiting for me to return" kept her from youth to old age...

Married for less than a day, her husband joined the Red Army. At the age of 100, Duan Guixiu is one of the surviving widows of Red Army martyrs from the old revolutionary base areas of southern Jiangxi. Her husband, Wang Jinzhang, joined the Red Army and was martyred in 1932. Married for less than a day in 1929, Wang Jinzhang left to join the Red Army. Duan Guixiu tearfully bid farewell to her lover, and as they parted, Wang Jinzhang gave his wife all the few dollars he had on him. Before leaving, he said, "I will be away for at most three to five years, you must wait for me to return. If anyone tells you I am dead, don't believe them." This was because in their village, if a husband died early, the wife would be considered "unlucky." Even at the last moment, Wang Jinzhang was protecting his beloved in his own way.

Year after year passed, and Wang Jinzhang remained missing without any news. The family members felt sorry for Duan Guixiu and repeatedly advised her to remarry. Matchmakers in the village also wanted to introduce her to someone, and there were other young men who wanted to marry her, but Duan Guixiu refused them all. She said, "He is the most trustworthy person. If he says something, he will definitely do it. I will wait for him to come back."

In the year, Duan Guixiu and others received a certificate of martyrdom. The village cadres told her that Wang Jinzhang had sacrificed in Fujian, but Duan Guixiu did not believe it. In the year, she adopted the child of her husband's younger brother and raised him, and she never remarried for the rest of her life. Once, while visiting the Memorial Hall of the Departure of the Central Red Army's Long March, Duan Guixiu suddenly stopped in front of a wall of straw sandals. On that wall was a red five-pointed star, which Duan Guixiu kept touching. She cried and said, "Brother Jinzhang's hat also had a five-pointed star." Later, those around her took Duan Guixiu to the cemetery of martyrs and pointed out the three characters "Wang Jinzhang" to her, who could not read, and she burst into tears instantly. "If there is an afterlife, I would still be willing to marry him."

Today, Duan Guixiu, still waits silently at the village entrance...

The Long March of 25,000 li, on average, saw one Red Army soldier sacrificing for every meter of the journey. On a certain date, the Central Red Army crossed the Yudu River under the cover of a dark night. No one knew that most of them would never return to their hometowns, never see their parents, wives, or children again. Even fewer knew that this desperate struggle for survival would become a journey that would change the fate of China. In the future, it would be remembered with an immortal name—the Long March. The Central Red Army set out with over 80,000 men, but only around 8,000 reached northern Shaanxi. On the 25,000 li Long March, on average, one Red Army soldier sacrificed for every meter of the journey.

The ferry of that year has now become a part of the Long March National Cultural Park. The revolutionary martyrs like Wang Jinzhang, who were unable to witness the birth of the new China, now find that at the place where the Long March began, people have already found the path to a better life, achieving a happy life of peace and contentment.